Fantasy Mailbag - April 24

[GoalieGuild]

Because I have to run Quest for the Crown 4 in three days, there is no School of Block this week! But the Fantasy Mailbag shall continue! Leave your questions here and I'll get to them later today!

Here is my latest piece that appeared on NHL.com back on Friday:

http://www.nhl.com/ice/news.htm?id=560520

It is on Sergei Bobrovsky.

[Killer67]

Hi Justin, I was wondering if you see any kind of NHL future for any of these goalies?

Jeff Deslauriers
Harri Sateri
Thomas Greiss
Jaroslav Janus
Mark Cheverie
Gustav Wesslau
Keith Kinkaid

Thanks a lot, I'm carrying too many goalies and want to trim down a bit.

[ericdaoust]

Now that we have seen Ray Emery play, do you see a long-term future for him in a prominent role? Does his lack of mobility concern you? Can he get some of that mobility back?

[MJ Flex]

Hey Justin,

LT fantasy value for these goalkeepers. Poulin, Lindback, Dubnyk.

[Enapai]

Justin -

Kind of curious for your thoughts on the LA Kings goaltending crease situation (particularly Quick vs Bernier). In fact I would vote for a "current state" article for the Kings situation with Quick, Bernier, Jones, Zakoff, and Berube having a nice season in juniors (not that you are in need of topics for articles).

Does LA roll for another couple of seasons with Quick as #1? How much of a risk do you see Bernier being? Does the outcome of the 1st round playoff series impact this at all? Any chance of a trade?

As always, thanks man.

[Renegade]

Justin,

What are your thoughts on Hiller and his situation? Kinda scares me going into next year.

Also, do you see Emery getting a full time gig over someone like Bryz or Vokoun if they are wanting too much? Does he deserve a second, I mean, third chance?

[GoalieGuild]

Hi Justin, I was wondering if you see any kind of NHL future for any of these goalies?

Jeff Deslauriers
Harri Sateri
Thomas Greiss
Jaroslav Janus
Mark Cheverie
Gustav Wesslau
Keith Kinkaid

Thanks a lot, I'm carrying too many goalies and want to trim down a bit.

Deslauriers is an unfortunate story and as much as I love the guy, I will be surprised if he ever plays another NHL game again. His only hope is to get a lucky opportunity on a team with little-to-no depth, like Columbus or Colorado.

Harri Sateri posted decent stats in seven games with the Worcester Sharks and I think has some NHL upside, but he's still a few years away...especially in a deep SJ system. Wouldn't put too much stock in that.

Greiss is a tough goalie to predict because he was loaned to Brynas in the SEL and had a pretty bad season. His play in the SEL has no impact on me when it comes to his NHL upside, but with Niemi and Niittymaki signed through next season, the Sharks will either have to trade Greiss or loan him again and I don't know what that does to his long-term value. As of right now, I would consider him risky - plenty of NHL upside skill wise, but stuck between a rock and a hard place.

Janus is kind of like Greiss. I think this kid has awesome skill, but stuck in a really deep system. TB is already loaning a legit prospect in Helenius overseas, and now they have a lot of choices to make in regards to Roloson, Smitty and Desjardins. I think Roloson will be re-signed for a year and Smitty was really improved this year, but probably still walks. That leaves CD to step into a full-blown NHL role and FINALLY Janus will get to play a full season in one spot - the AHL. Tokarski has always been the more valuable goalie to own between those two ... and that continues to be my stance. I don't forsee an NHL future coming to him in the next two years. But he's still young and depending on what TB does with their depth, has the talent to be an NHL goalie.

Cheverie - absolutely. The loss of Salak in Florida plus Vokoun and Clemmensen being older makes him a quality prospect. I know him very well from his time spent here in Colorado and I know he has the skills and mental toughness and smarts to be a good NHL goalie. Not so much a matter of "if" with him but when.

Wesslau's rookie season didn't go as well as planned but it was hampered by an injury to start the season. I thought he slowly progressed as the season went along, but he didn't gain much momentum. Not sure if Columbus tries to retain him, but they might since they are now looking for a new goalie coach and they might let Garon walk. Minus Allen York, Columbus' goaltending is totally up in the air right now with their firing of Dave Rook the goalie coach.

Kinkaid is an interesting one. It doesn't look like the devils are going to retain McKenna, so Frazee becomes more valuable and now Kinkaid has a chance to step into a role in Albany and flat out steal the starting role. If he has a really strong rookie year in the AHL, he could become more valuable than Frazee long-term. Very solid goalie with underrated potential in Kinkaid.

[GoalieGuild]

Now that we have seen Ray Emery play, do you see a long-term future for him in a prominent role? Does his lack of mobility concern you? Can he get some of that mobility back?

I do not see Emery having a long-term future in a prominent role. He might have to accept being a backup. Yes, his lack of mobility concerns me. He was dropping way too early in the last two games of his series and I think he suffered from energy drain really quickly after he played so well to help get the ducks into the playoffs. It was a crazy valiant effort though, one that definitely deserves the Masterton Trophy.

I think over the summer he re-gains strength and does improve his mobility a little bit...but I don't know where he's going to play. He's a risk. I don't know enough about his current health status to really say "well he's good enough to fight for a starting role" ... but I do think he would make a nice 2nd goalie somewhere that allows him to push for more minutes and keep a starter alert.

[GoalieGuild]

Hey Justin,

LT fantasy value for these goalkeepers. Poulin, Lindback, Dubnyk.

All three are legit future starters in my opinion.

Poulin will take longer to get to that point because of DiPietro screwing over the Isles' depth in goal. I also really like Montoya's upside now that he has taken advantage of his opportunity. So that forces Poulin to be patient and spend some time in the AHL before he gets a real good shot to secure a legit NHL job.

Look at it from one of the most basic terms for goaltending upside.

Combination of SPEED + SIZE + SKILLS.

Lindback has the slight edge on Dubnyk who has an edge on Poulin.

Then look at their situation as far as TEAM + OPPORTUNITY + ROLE.

Dubnyk has the edge on Lindback, who has the edge on Poulin.

Dubnyk may have been one of the most improved goalies over the course of the season. Khabibulin will start next year as the teams "Starter" but Dubnyk probably ends up playing more games. Lindback is clearly going to end up playing behind Rinne again, and the Preds will need Rinne to play at least 60 games, so the role (backup) is the same as Dubnyk in regards to straight up title, but clearly Dubnyk has the better opportunity.

So that's how I look at it. All three have the NHL starter upside, all have some decent NHL experience already, but Dubnyk has more NHL games played, a better opportunity to reach starter status first and still an amazing combo of size, speed and skills.

[Lucic Haymaker]

Hey Justin,

Wondering if you have any thoughts on Karri Ramo's chances of being the backup in Montreal next year or if he'll stay over in the KHL?

I own him in a 30 team keeper roto pool w/ 30 man rosters and 25 man keeper lists, and am debating keeping him versus a depth defenceman or someone else guaranteed to at least be on an NHL roster. Goalies are extremely scarce though, and my other 'tenders are Bobrovsky, Anderson, and Biron so I'm not particularly solid in net going forward. Thanks!

[MJ Flex]

All three are legit future starters in my opinion.

Poulin will take longer to get to that point because of DiPietro screwing over the Isles' depth in goal. I also really like Montoya's upside now that he has taken advantage of his opportunity. So that forces Poulin to be patient and spend some time in the AHL before he gets a real good shot to secure a legit NHL job.

Look at it from one of the most basic terms for goaltending upside.

Combination of SPEED + SIZE + SKILLS.

Lindback has the slight edge on Dubnyk who has an edge on Poulin.

Then look at their situation as far as TEAM + OPPORTUNITY + ROLE.

Dubnyk has the edge on Lindback, who has the edge on Poulin.

Dubnyk may have been one of the most improved goalies over the course of the season. Khabibulin will start next year as the teams "Starter" but Dubnyk probably ends up playing more games. Lindback is clearly going to end up playing behind Rinne again, and the Preds will need Rinne to play at least 60 games, so the role (backup) is the same as Dubnyk in regards to straight up title, but clearly Dubnyk has the better opportunity.

So that's how I look at it. All three have the NHL starter upside, all have some decent NHL experience already, but Dubnyk has more NHL games played, a better opportunity to reach starter status first and still an amazing combo of size, speed and skills.

Tks Justin

[Riverboat Danglers]

hey justin what are your thoughts on gustavsson in toronto. this kid to me had all the tools in the world to be a number 1 goalie and even was given a legit chance for a little bit to run with the ball but now he has reimer and giggy in front of him. i own him in a sim league with campbell, holtby, and bernier waiting in the wings. its hard to cut bait on the guy for nothing. is he worth holding on to or do you see him in more of a backup role long term.

thanks